Another beer bill is headed to the floor of the legislature, this time one that will allow convenience stores – but not groceries and big box retailers – to sell full-strength beer.

The Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee today approved the legislation, Senate Bill 194, on a 4-2 vote, sending it to the floor of the Senate. The first version of the bill, which is being sponsored by Sen. Betty Boyd, D-Lakewood, showed a cost to the state of $10,000 for an appropriation to the state’s Liquor Enforcement Division.

But a reworked version of the bill took out that cost, meaning it could bypass another Senate committee and go straight to the Senate floor, the first time such a bill has reached the chamber. Similar bills have died in committee year after year.

WASHINGTON –The U.S. House of Representatives voted 225 to 195 on a budget plan Wednesday that includes $20 million to fund a voucher program for the District of Columbia public schools.

The program would allow students and parents to take taxpayer dollars and use it for tuition to private, religious schools.

And that is getting some Colorado House members cranky — and others excited.

Rep. Mike Coffman, a Douglas County Republican who isn’t on any education committee, issued a statement Wednesday applauding the plan saying the “choice program is successfully reforming the education system in our nation’s capitol … Parents and students in Washington, D.C. deserve better options and if the senate is serious about bipartisan education reform, they should approve this bill.”

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Democrat from Jefferson County who also does not often weigh in on education issues, decried its passage saying “House Republicans, led by the Tea Party Express want to slash education funding by $4.9 billion across the country while increasing funding for religious and private schools in a small district.”

Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and Mark Udall will host a bipartisan forum in Denver April 8 with Alan Simpson to discuss the nation’s fiscal condition.

Colorado’s Common Sense Forum on the Nation’s Debt and Deficit Crisis, as it’s called, will feature an array of speakers such as former Colorado U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, former U.S. Rep. David Skaggs and Alice M. Rivlin, the former Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Clinton.

The event will be held at the University of Colorado-Denver with Simpson, co-chair of the Presidential Fiscal Commission. Last year, the Fiscal Commission submitted a plan to Congress that proposed reductions to discretionary spending, changes to entitlement programs and tax reform to reduce the country’s deficit. However, the proposal failed to receive the votes needed for Congressional consideration.

Still, both Bennet and Udall have called for the proposal to be sent to Congress for debate and a yes or no vote. Earlier this month, Bennet teamed with Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) leading 62 other senators in calling on President Obama to include a comprehensive deficit reduction package in any budgetary negotiations.

Carol Boigon has been proud to let everyone know that she voted against a 6.6 percent pay raise for Denver’s incoming elected officials — and now she is using it in her second political advertisement.

Boigon was one of five council members to vote against the pay raise, which passed at a March 21 council meeting. The two other council members who are running for mayor, Doug Linkhart and Michael Hancock, supported the raise that kicks in two years from now.

City Council has passed amendments to Denver's needle exchange ordinance.

Denver City Council has voted unanimously to amend a 1997 ordinance on needle exchange programs, making it easier for them to operate in the city.

Amendments to the ordinance include eliminating the one-for-one syringe exchange provision, eliminating ID cards for participants and killing a provision that restricts a needle exchange program from operating within a mile of another exchange.

In addition, the amendment also adds in a provision that restricts needle exchange programs from operating within 1,000 feet of a licensed daycare center.

In a debate that touched on lost jobs and broken kneecaps, the House today gave initial approval to legislation that would allow payday lenders to make more money on loans.

The legislation, House Bill 1290, revisited a law passed last year that put significant new caps on payday loans in Colorado. Under that law, traditional, two-week payday loans were essentially eliminated and replaced them with loans that can be paid back over as long as six months.

Previously, payday lenders could charge fees that amounted to more than 300 percent interest measured as an annual percentage rate. The law passed last year still allowed lenders to charge up to $675 in interest and fees on a $500 loan, if a borrower extended the loan another six months. That’s still 135 percent interest as an annual percentage rate.

An overseas voter bill once deemed “unnecessary” and “flawed” unanimously passed the House today after a rocky journey that led to political fingerpointing.

“That’s because it was a good bill,” said Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder. “It was always a good bill.”

Well, not always. Initially the secretary of state and county clerks had issues with her bill, which then was delayed so she could work on the problems.

But Levy said she couldn’t get the bill rescheduled for another hearing, and was told it was going to die. When she asked why, she said one Republican lawmaker told her it was because Democrats, now in the minority after six years in power, were “locking down” on Democratic bills.

Battle brewing in Colorado: A fight brewing in the Colorado legislature has lawmakers bitterly divided over beer. The state House of Representatives is expected to begin debate soon on a bill that would dismantle Colorado’s great beer divide, which since 1933 has limited the sale of beer with higher alcohol content to liquor stores, restaurants and bars. Wall Street Journal

Polis’s pot legalization push: Supporters of decriminalizing marijuana, including Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, are hoping to build momentum on Capitol Hill after a historic election that saw the politics of pot take center stage in four states. ABC News

‘John schools’ a step closer: A statewide network of “john schools” for men caught seeking prostitutes is closer to approval in Colorado. The Colorado Senate on Tuesday voted 32-2 for a bill raising fines to a minimum of $5,000. Fines could reach a maximum of $10,000. The Associated Press

Waiting on the budget: Though the Joint Budget Committee was supposed to present a budget to the state Senate by last week, it missed that deadline and it’s unclear when it might deliver one. The Gazette

Juvenile parole bill dies: House committee on Tuesday killed a bill that would have made people convicted of serious crimes as juveniles eligible for parole after serving 40 years in prison. The Chieftain

Lucero to the rescue: Somber Larimer County Republicans, told Monday that their local party faces deep debt on top of a potential massive campaign finance fine, turned to former congressional candidate Tom Lucero to lead them out of scandal. The Coloradoan

Inclined to hike: Manitou Springs City council approved a plan after heated debate Tuesday to open the Mount Manitou Incline to hikers. But as the hundreds of thousands of illegal Incline climbers know all too well, what at first seems like the end is not really the end. The Gazette

Structural changes: A bill moving briskly through the Legislature could make it more difficult for those old water supply structures to be included in either the Colorado Register of Historic Properties or the National Register of Historic Places. The Coloradoan

‘Birther’ zeroes in on Obama records: A Colorado Springs “birther,” retired Air Force Col. Gregory Hollister, has Internet blogs abuzz with what may be an illegal foray into an online Social Security data base and how he obtained a copy of President Barack Obama’s draft registration from 1980. The Gazette

Study done, time to vote: The Boulder City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on how the iconic open space lands west of Boulder should be managed, wrapping up an intense and often controversial process that has stretched on for nearly two years. The vote will settle some of the most contentious issues surrounding the trails that lie in the shadow of the Flatirons, including where mountain bikes and dogs should and should not be allowed. The Daily Camera

On tap in Aspen: In an effort to reduce the local use of bottled water in environmentally unfriendly containers, the city of Aspen is considering a program to market its own municipal tap water. Aspen Times

In the dark: Some legislators are apparently in the dark when it comes to the potential impacts of a proposed bill that would put the state on year-round daylight saving time, meaning sunrise in Aspen wouldn’t occur until almost 8:30 a.m. in December and January. Only in Alaska (and other places in Colorado) would the sun rise later. Aspen Times and the Aspen Daily News

10 quit GOP group: Former Colorado Springs Senator Dave Schultheis is no longer holding forth on bills on the Senate floor in Denver, but he has continued to exert influence this year as the powerful force behind the conservative Republican Study Committee of Colorado. Now that influence may be waning. This week, a third of the RSCC flock quit the committee, rejecting the would-be radical-right revival. Colorado Independent

Budget splits suburban voters: For weeks, President Obama has been locked in a fierce budget fight with Republican lawmakers demanding big cuts to slash the federal deficit. Without a deal, much of the federal government could soon shut down. Here in the Denver suburbs, the battleground portion of a battleground state, agreement among voters on where to cut, what to cut, how much and how quickly seems just as elusive. LA Times

Gay rights activists lobby at the state Capitol in 2009. (The Denver Post)

Expect the Capitol to be packed tomorrow with supporters and opponents of a bill giving same-sex couples many of the rights and responsibilities of marriage.

A rally for the bill and a prayer vigil against it are scheduled for opposite sides of the state Capitol at noon Thursday.

Supporters of civil unions have urged the Republican-controlled House to send Senate Bill 172 to the entire floor for a debate. The measure will be heard by the House Judiciary Committee at 1:30 p.m., where several Republican lawmakers are on record as opposing civil unions.

The rally will be held on the west steps of the Capitol.

Opponents include Colorado Family Action, an arm of Focus on the Family. The group has scheduled a prayer vigil from noon to 1 p.m. on the east side of the Capitol.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.